June 18, 2014

Don't Blink

It happened so fast. In the mere blink of an eye she went from my itsy bitsy girl that was 3 parts hair and one part face. . .

to a lovely young woman who just finished her elementary school career. . .

How did that happen? I feel like I am still 28 but somehow she became 11. I have loved every minute of the journey with her. She has never had a tantrum, has never colored on the walls and has never tried to cut her own hair. She has never hit anyone, has never had an accident in her underwear and has never spoken disrespectfully to me or anyone else. It has nothing to do with how she was mothered. She was born truly perfect and my job as her mother is to just not mess her up. . . and to try to get her to eat peas. She won't eat peas - her only flaw.

Her childhood has not produced a shelf full of sports trophies that gather dust. But, rather, her childhood has produced the most rare medals that are invisible to others -- medals of humanity. She is caring, sensitive and gracious and those qualities have already changed the world. Her most frequently spoken phrase is, "What can I do to help, Mom?" Those words have brought such a wonderful peace to our home. It was the trend in her class last year to make fun of a particular child that has autism. She stood up to her peers about their inappropriate treatment of him then bravely shared her concern to school staff to help. She gave the boy her phone number and told him to call her whenever he wanted to. When classmates made fun of her for that, she replied, "I don't care. He is my friend." She had him come over to her house for a playdate. She has befriended every child that needed a friend and her frequent compliments and encouragement leave them and every one else that crosses her path uplifted because of her.

As I watched her walk across the stage of her elementary school graduation a few days ago, my heart was full of gratitude to God for blessing our home with her.

Happy Graduation Evie!

I have toothpicks prying my eyes open now. I won't blink. I won't. It will all go too fast if I do.